This invention relates to ladle nozzle inserts and in particular to installation tools for accurately positioning and fastening nozzle inserts within the discharge bore of a steelmaking ladle.
Today's state of the an steelmaking ladles include complex apparatus for dispensing the molten metal from a discharge bore located in the bottom of the ladle. This apparatus often includes a replaceable nozzle insert shaped to engage a slide gate valve used to control the flow of the molten metal. Such interacting components make it necessary to accurately place the nozzle inserts within the discharge bore of the ladle to permit correct alignment between the insert and the mechanism of the slide gate valve. Failure to properly seat a nozzle insert to an exact depth within a discharge bore will cause interference between the insert and the slide gate valve. Forces required to operate the valve will smash any misaligned refractory parts of the insert which don't intermesh with the valve mechanism, and the nozzle insert service life will be greatly reduced. In addition, interference between the nozzle insert and its slide gate valve can cause the valve to jamb and create a "running stop", an emergency which often floods the shop with molten metal and usually requires a shutdown of the steelmaking operations.
Along with the need to properly position a nozzle insert within a discharge bore of a well block, it is also necessary to provide a continuous mortar joint, free of voids or gaps, between the outside surface of the nozzle insert and the wall of the discharge bore. Substandard mortar joints, those having voids or gaps, permit molten steel to seep between the nozzle insert and the ladle lining and cause premature nozzle failure, damage to the slag sensors adjacent the discharge nozzle, and damage to the slide gate mechanism.